


untitled

by deecherrywolf



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gay Keith (Voltron), M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-08 23:37:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8867794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deecherrywolf/pseuds/deecherrywolf
Summary: Lance discovers Keith enjoys baths just as much as he does





	

**Author's Note:**

> I will be updating Beyond Bonding around monday (thinking of making it bi-weekly updates), but for some reason after reading this little headcanon on Tumblr :
> 
> Lance hordes expensive bath products that he buys from alien markets, stuff like bath salts/bombs, fruity shampoos, etc. He and Keith will take fancy baths together and just cuddle while Lance washes his boyfriend’s hair. Keith always complains but on the inside he really likes it because it’s calming and makes him sleepy. (later Pidge is like “what smells like a lush factory exploded”)
> 
> I found my fingers flying and couldn't stop myself~! Of course I made it less about boyfriends and more about them finding even more common ground with baths.

“What is this place?”

The aromatic smells permeated the air - creating a cacophony of scents that were simultaneously bad and good, giving most of the paladins headaches at the very smell of them. But for Lance? The smells reminded him of one of his favorite stores back in the States, one of the first places he went to look at after hearing about it a couple of times from his friends in the States - Lush. The smell was just like a Lush store, like one exploded on this planet.

Coran stepped in, his nose wrinkling. “This is the planet of Savaan, inhabited by creatures that swim yearlong.”

Hell, he would too if the water always smelled this heavenly. But one look at his fellow paladins and he could tell they didn’t share his sentiment. Typical.

Allura nodded. “But they are a peaceful race as long as-”

“Welcome travelers!!” greeted a peppy voice and a smooth looking alien appeared - the gills on her neck flapping and her hair-like tendrils wriggling. Beady eyes looked up at the paladins, her eyes flashing.

“What brought you here today?”

Allura smiled. “Oh, our ship is just need of refueling and you were the closest stop-”

Coran added quickly. “But, we couldn’t help but notice your lovely array of water enhancers, so we thought, why not a look?”

“Wonderful! Wonderful! Everyone deserves a good water enhancer. Let me see, I think this one will do wonders for you.”

Lance’s lips quirked up in amusement. Well now, it was even just like a Lush store - including the peppy sales associates. He began perusing on his own, eying the weird jelly substances, stones, and many more until he spotted the baskets and the round objects inside. They were softer than the Earth equivalent, but oh god, they had to be what he thought they were.

“I see the soaping shells have caught your eye.”

Lance looked over at the alien, it was a different one than the one talking to Coran and Allura, but looked similar aside from a few differences, not as many gills, her tendrils were longer and she was shorter, but obviously still the same species. Lance nodded. “I am, do you do demonstrations?”

Her bead eyes widened in glee. “Of course! Let me see, this one right here is our best seller.”

Lance followed her to the small tub set up and watched her dump it into the water, it fizzed just like he expected, and god the aroma - it was heavenly. He thumbed the satchel of money Allura had given them - she had said that it was for if they were ever in a pinch, but he could feel the urge to buy some of these. He picked out a couple and then moved to what he assumed was the register - the pleasant looking alien behind it beamed at him.

“Is this all for you today?”

“Actually, do you have any facemasks?” He was running low on his own.

“Lance! What, are you doing?” whispered Shiro, who was worried now, looking at the pile of items Lance was buying - the cashier putting them in a sack while another sales receptionist moved towards where Lance assumed they kept facemasks. He looked at Shiro.

“What does it look like? I’m buying product.”

“You don’t even know if this stuff is safe for humans!”

That was a risk Lance was willing to take.

Allura butted in, placing a hand on Shiro's shoulder. “We can test it in the castle, but Shiro, this is exactly what the Savaanites want. We wouldn’t be able to leave until we at least bought something.”

“What, really?”

Allura nodded. “They are a poor planet that is out of the way, any monetary they can get their hands on is important to them.”

Lance beamed. “So I’m actually doing the right thing this time, huh?”

“Okay, we have four different visage veils, but looking at your good complexion I think these two would be your best options.”

“May I open it?”

“Here!”

She opened one and Lance sniffed. Minty, he liked the smell of mints. She opened the other one and it smelled of vanilla and roses. Oh, he wanted them both. He clicked his tongue, but eventually he picked the minty one - it smelled most the most like one he had at home. He fished out the money, paying her and then turned - leaving with his team back to the ship. Once inside, he looked at Allura.

“Please tell me the Castle has a huge bath area - I’ve only seen the communal showers in the training room lockers and my own shower stall.”

Allura nodded. “We do, it just hasn’t been used for ten thousand years.”

Hunk’s nose wrinkled. “You aren’t actually thinking of bathing in a ten thousand year old tub, are you Lance?”

“Uh, yeah? I am?”

Pidge shuddered. “Gross.”

“What? Baths are sacred, I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Shiro sighed. “Baths are fine, but Pidge and Hunk are right - the baths are ten thousand years old, do you know how filthy they must be?”

“Uh, I’ve cleaned plenty of other things in the Castle - I can clean a couple of tubs so I can soak in them.”

“Have fun swimming in your own filth.” scoffed Pidge, who walked off.

Lance rolled his eyes. “Wow, she has no idea how a good bath works, does she Shiro?”

Shiro blinked, flushing slightly. “Uhm, I actually… agree with her?”

“What!? But…”

Shiro laughed. “I’ve only used showers, sorry.”

Lance bit his tongue, not wanting to say anymore because, well, the thoughts in his head reminded him of when people just assumed things of him too and it had always ticked him off. He sighed, shrugging. He didn’t mind bathing by himself, but man… cleaning the bath by himself.

Coran patted his shoulder. “I’ll take you to the royal bath chambers. I’ll test the products you bought. I’ll have to test your skin, alright?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Coran led him down a wing he hadn’t been down before, making Lance feel curious until Coran opened the door to a room - leading Lance in, whose eyes grew wide at the sight. Oh, wow… the place was like a giant bathhouse. Lance licked his lips as his feet hit the cool tile and Coran lead him to one of the tubs.

“As you can see, it’s quite dirty from the lack of use.”

Lance shook his head. “I can get it clean.”

Coran shrugged. “Before you do that, here, let me see your arm.”

Lance held out his arm and Coran used a scanning machine over it and then scanned the product Lance had bought, each one, and then gave him the okay sign. 

“It’s okay to use on your skin, which we should have known. Savaanites are good at what they do, making very gentle products.”

Lance rolled up his sleeves, feeling anxious to get to work. “So, are you going to give me the cleaning supplies so I can get started on this or not?”

Coran’s brow raised, but he gave the cleaning supplies over. “Good luck.”

Lance frowned as he watched Coran leave. Man, he had hoped that maybe Coran had been the type to bathe, maybe he’d help out so he could have a pleasant bath again, but no. Ugh, it was frustrating. He scrubbed away at one of the tubs, the grime slowly coming off on the side he was working on to reveal a beautiful blue porcelain. He continued to scrub until he heard the door open. He sighed in consternation.

“I’m not changing my mind, Hunk.”

“Actually, I, uh… wanted to offer to help.”

That voice. Lance blinked and looked up, his eyes widening at the sight of Keith. He wasn’t wearing his dumb jacket, just that faded black tee and his mullet was pulled back in a half assed ponytail. Lance raised an eyebrow. Keith was offering to help him clean the tub, which meant-

“ _You_ like baths?”

Keith looked indignant at that. “What? I can’t like baths?!”

“But you’re _Keith_ you live in a dirty little shack-”

Keith’s eyes narrowed. “That doesn’t mean I can’t like baths! What the hell, Lance.”

Lance sighed. “Fine, whatever, let’s assume you do like baths, okay. Here.”

Keith caught the cleaning supply and began helping Lance immediately. Lance couldn’t help but glance at Keith time to time as they cleaned side by side. Lance was use to the endless chatter of Coran when he cleaned, cleaning beside someone as quiet as Keith was a different experience, but a good one - they were finished with the tub in no time.

Keith rubbed at his forehead. “We should clean a couple of the shower stalls now.”

Lance smiled, hesitantly, it came out a little constipated looking - not use to smiling at Keith. “At least you get the idea of baths.”

Keith snorted, his brow and nose wrinkling. “Duh, who actually just bathes without showering first?”

“Well, a lot of people have combination bath and showers.”

“Yeah, I’d never bathe in one of those even if my life depended on it.”

Lance nodded. Though, he wouldn’t admit that while visiting his aunt he had definitely bathed in one of those - he had scrubbed the hell out of first, but he still did it.

The two of them moved to the shower stalls, each picking one out to clean dutifully until it sparkled. Lance sighed happily but then looked over at the large tub. _Tub_. Not tubs… He gnawed on his lower lip and then looked at Keith.

“Should we clean another? So you can use one?”

Keith’s brow raised. “We’re both guys, who cares?”

“Right.”

Lance watched as Keith stripped of his shirt, hanging it on the hook outside the shower stall he had cleaned. Lance quickly turned away and began working on his own clothes, his pulse quickening. He had a few memories from one of his bathhouse experiences back home. One of his friends had taken him there on his eighteenth birthday and it had been a fun experience, but it also had been an eye opening one - he had realized quickly that, yeah, he was definitely into men just as much as he was woman. This was reminding him of the sensation.

The sound of the shower stall next to his going made him swallow, he noticed the smell of rather plain soaps - soap Keith had brought in. It smelled a lot like the Irish Spring scent from back on Earth - a plain soap that was inexpensive. Lance felt a bit pampered as he pulled out his more expensive soaps and began cleaning himself as well, finishing up. He grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his middle as he walked out - noticing Keith already filling the tub - he wore a towel too, but Lance couldn’t help but look at his legs, muscular and dusted with fine black hairs. He swallowed as he passed Keith, grabbing one of the bath bombs he’d bought, turning back to Keith. He walked over cautiously, noticing Keith watching him too. 

“This one smell okay to you?”

Keith sniffed it, giving him a soft nod. “I won’t lie, I’m use to more spa like smells, but that’s okay.”

“ _Spa_ like smells? Is there more to the dirty shack dweller than we got to see?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “I only lived there when I was going to the Garrison, you know. I actually use to live in Korea when I was a kid.”

The teasing left Lance’s voice as he softened at the thoughts of childhood. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, and once I was brought to America through adoption agencies, I was passed from Korean families - some Japanese ones too. Baths weren’t always a staple, but… mostly they were.”

Lance nodded. “I was surprised when Shiro said he was a shower guy, I assumed-”

Keith’s eyes squinted, a playful smile on his face. “Racist.”

“Am not! I just thought… okay, that is a little prejudiced, but come on - you just admitted most of the Japanese families you had lived with were into baths.”

Keith touched the water, testing its heat, turning it up a bit and nodded. “Yeah, that’s true - but I could have told you Shiro was more into showers, his family was one of my fosters that had one of those gross combination bath-shower things.”

Lance’s eyes widened. “So _that’s_ how you knew Shiro.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Other than the Galaxy Garrison, yeah?”

“Wow, you two do have a past, huh?” 

Keith waved a hand. “Yeah, I guess. He is the only big brother that stuck around. Okay, you can drop that bath bomb in.”

“I believe the word the Savaanites used was Soaping Shell.”

Keith rolled his eyes while Lance dropped it in. And oh, a heavenly scent filled the room. Lance watched as the water fizzed and slowly turned into an amazing dark purple color. The water shimmered as it settled and Keith dropped his towel, making Lance squeak and cover his eyes.

Keith snorted in amusement. “I have the same equipment you have.”

The sound of something entering the water made Lance uncover his eyes - noticing Keith’s eyes hooded as he sank into the tub up to his chin. Oh, that looked nice. Lance licked his lips and dropped his own towel - self conscious as Keith’s eyes were on him. He wished he could tell if those eyes were roaming his form, but he didn’t want to be narcissistic about it. He got in too, moaning as he sank in.

“Oh. my god. This is heaven.”

“Mmhmm.”

Lance leaned against the bath, keeping his distance from Keith. He looked at Keith, who was also leaning against the bath, his eyes relaxed. And… actually, this was the first time Lance had seen Keith so relaxed. It was interesting to see. Keith had always looked youthful, in a weird way, but seeing him like this, he looked even younger.

“I can't believe we found something in common.”

Keith's eyes opened and he frowned. “We have more in common than just baths. We're both paladins, we both love piloting-”

“That's different. This is more hobbyish. We now share a hobby.”

“I guess.”

Lance moved a bit, sinking down to his chin. “You mentioned spas, do you like facials too?”

Keith's cheeks were flushed, but Lance was sure it was from the heated bath rather than embarrassment. But still… was that a yes?

“Stop looking at me like that. I had an Auntie, she would take me to the spa with her and she'd give me facial treatments there. She'd be all ‘Ahh, my nephew, your skin is important, it is the first thing one notices, you must take care of it’. Her rituals kind of stuck.”

Lance grinned. “I had my older sister, my grandma, and an aunt to thank for most of my skincare regime. But man, I can't believe you actually have one. I took you for more of a ‘I use plain soap on my face’ kind of guy.”

Keith frowned. “I won’t lie, ever since moving to the desert and being in the Galaxy Garrison… I've slacked on it. That old adoptive auntie of mine would be disappointed.”

“Well, we can fix that here and now. Hold on a sec.”

Lance got out of the bath, unabashed by his nakedness now, and hurried over to the bag he brought in - pulling out a tube. “This is the product I use the most. It's to be used once or twice a week-”

“Most masks are, I'm not stupid.”

“Okay, sorry! I keep forgetting that the desert dweller is actually a secret beauty guru.”

That made Keith snort. Lance got back into the tub, closer to Keith this time and risked it. He leaned forward and began applying the mask to his face.

Keith sighed. “I like clay masks.”

“Me too, I love the way they make my skin feel.”

Keith hummed in response, his eyes closed as he enjoyed the sensation of Lance's fingers massaging the mask over his face. Lance felt a strange prickle run through him as he gazed down at Keith's relaxed face, feeling the contour of his cheeks, the slope of his nose… and wow, Keith had a very well crafted face. Lance swallowed. 

“Done, my turn!”

Keith's eyes opened and he didn't argue, just took the tube from Lance and began applying it to his face. Lance sighed in pleasure. 

“Ohh, my god. It always feels so much better when someone else does it for you.”

Keith chuckled, his fingers moving circular motions as he spread the clay out. “There.”

Lance's eyes opened and he looked at Keith, laughing at his mask covered face. Keith laughed with him, both of them sinking a little further in the tub. The two of them scrubbed off their masks together and even cleaned out the tub when they were finished together, strolling back to their rooms together. It was the first time Lance could remember ever feeling so relaxed around Keith, so happy, it was definitely worth it.

“So, should we make this a thing? I mean I have more than one Soaping Shell.” 

Keith stared at him, his hair still damp and his face better looking than it had in awhile. Lance couldn’t even help but notice how even his eyes seemed brighter. It made his gut feel a little weird but nothing compared to the feeling Keith’s slow smile invoked on him.

“You don’t have to share them with me, you should enjoy them on your own too.”

“Yeah, I could… but, uh, you’re always welcome to join me?”

Keith nodded, his brows knitting as the air began to cool them and the magical feel of the bath was waning away. They looked at each other one last time before parting. Bath time, after that, had become a sacred, Keith and Lance bonding time. Lance always asked Keith if he wanted to join him in the bath and he’d also join Keith when the other was just enjoying the tub they had discovered had jets. Lance couldn’t believe how amazing it was to have someone to share this all with.

“Focus, Lance.” said Shiro as he dodged another beam. Lance blinked and used his shield against it, looking over at Keith.

“Hey Keith, what do you think about bubble baths?”

Keith wiped sweat off his brow, eyes locked on the training bot. Pidge raised an eyebrow, jerking her shield up when a beam targeted her.. 

“They're okay.”

“Good! Because at that one planet I found this awesome scented bubble bath, I swear it smells like peaches and cream.”

Keith's lips quirked, dodging a beam, and licked the sweat off his upper lip. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Soooo… after training?”

“Yeah.”

Lance fist pumped in the air while Pidge rolled her eyes.

“I can't believe after all the ways we tried to get them to bond, baths were the key.”

“You're just jealous Keith and I have a bathing utopia and you don't.”

Keith snorted at that. The training sessions powered down, while Allura congratulated them all - Keith turned to Lance. “Okay, a good soak sounds good now.”

They both ignored the looks Hunk and Pidge sent them while they headed towards the bath chambers. Lance whistled as he opened the door, walking to his usual shower stall. But first, he sat down the bubble bath, looking at Keith. “If you wanna go ahead and start the bathwater and bubbles, that would be great.”

“I can do that.”

Lance pulled his curtain back and then shut himself in the shower stall, closing his eyes as he washed his body. Within a matter of minutes, the shower stall next to his started, the scent of Keith’s plain soap filling the air. Maybe he should offer Keith his soap, he could totally use something better for his skin than some cheap soap, but maybe he liked the scent - it was rather pleasant, after all. He sighed and finished his shower, stepping out and over to the bath, not even bothering with his towel at the moment. He looked at the bath, the scent of peaches filling his senses. He hummed and got in, enjoying the popping sensation around him. Keith emerged from his shower, ruffling his hair before folding his towel and placing it on the rack they had set up.

He got in, sighing happily. 

“This is one of the things I had missed about Earth, I’m sooo glad we have this now..”

Keith hummed, eyes still closed. Lance rolled over, sliding closer to Keith.

“Did you ever go in any bathhouses in the states?”

Keith's eyes opened at that. ‘Uh, well… a lot of the bathhouses in the States were… uhh…”

Lance's lips quirked. “Let me guess, they were exclusively for… men?”

Keith's cheeks colored. “Yeah.”

Lance wondered… did they have more in common than just baths? “Did you enjoy it?”

“Is that your roundabout way of asking me if I'm gay?”

Lance shrugged, seeing no reason to feign ignorance. “Pretty much.”

Keith let out a dry laugh. “Yeah, I am.”

“Full homo?”

Keith's nose wrinkled. “I can tell you aren't with using a phrase like that.”

“Excuse you, I'm full bi, thank you.”

Keith laughed, too relaxed in the bath to actually care too much. He sighed again. “As for if I enjoyed it? Sometimes. Other times, I felt like a piece of meat, thrown to a pack of wolves. But I had been eighteen the first time I went to one and was considered, well, fresh meat.”

Lance flicked at some bubbles. “No, I totally get it. When I went to a bathhouse in Cuba, I felt the same way. While I enjoyed it, yeah, I couldn’t help but notice some guy old enough to be my dad making eyeballs at me.”

“Right!? It was….”

“... Yeah.” Lance finished for him, both of them having uncomfortable thoughts. But at least they were together in this. Lance never would have thought he’d find another thing in common with Keith like this. He shifted in the tub, conscious of the fact he had accidentally brushed Keith’s foot.

“I won’t lie though, It made me miss bathhouses in Korea. I didn’t go to many because I was so young, but the ones I had been to? They were amazing.”

“I’m jealous, I would have loved to experience something like that.”

Keith turned, his cheek resting on his arm as he looked at Lance, dark eyes soft and relaxed. “Maybe when we return to Earth, you can go and visit Korea with me. We can go to one together.”

Lance felt his heart seize up at that, swallowing back a strange sensation. He’d… actually like that. The thought of traveling with Keith sounded like fun, especially to a place they could enjoy their hobby together.

“Yeah… I think I’d like that.”

Keith grinned and Lance felt his traitorous heart flip. God, why did Keith have to always look so good? Lance had always been jealous of Keith, but looks wise, he’d never really been that jealous of him - he’d always considered himself rather good looking, but looking at Keith now - he couldn’t help but notice just how handsome the other really was. His soft skin, dark eyes, and even dark hair, settling over pale shoulders… his face structure too - a strong jaw, beautifully sculpted nose that hooked slightly, giving him a soft profile, but still masculine. He was really handsome.

Lance tore his eyes away from Keith, wanting to still his heart before it caught up with his body. If Keith noticed any change in him, he didn’t point it out. Lance sunk into the tub, disappearing within the bubbles only to emerge with a soft gasp, bubbles all over his head. Keith laughed softly at him, flicking bubbles off of his hair, while also plucking at his heart strings.

\---

“I want in.”

Lance frowned as he looked up, a brow raising at a very hesitant looking Pidge. Okay, maybe hesitant wasn’t the right word. She looked obstinate over something that Lance wasn’t even sure what it was.

“In what?”

“Your whole… bath… ritual, thing.”

Lance’s eyes widened. The first thing that came to mind was how Pidge was a girl, and well, he bathed with his little sisters and his older sister’s kids, sure, but that was different. Pidge wasn’t family, for one, and she was a teenager for another. Obviously sensing his worries, Pidge rolled her eyes.

“I’d wear my underwear or a towel.”

With that out of the way, the only thing that stood in the way of him taking her by the hand and leading her straight to magical bath land was Keith.

Bath had become his and Keith’s _thing_. Would it be okay to share it with the rest of the team? A part of Lance said yeah, it would be okay. Why wouldn’t it be? They were a team and the more they bonded the better off Voltron would be. Surely Keith would feel the same. But, there was a small selfish side of him that said no, this would not be okay. This was his and Keith’s thing. It was something he didn’t want to share with anyone other than Keith and he wanted to keep it that way.

Unfortunately, Pidge must have sensed that. Her eyes suddenly became a little too wicked.

“Unless, you and Keith are doing dirty things in there, then okay, you can keep your “bath” rituals to yourselves.”

Lance blushed. “That’s not what’s happening!”

Pidge raised an eyebrow and Lance found himself floundering, unable to really defend himself because, well… he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it.

Ever since he’d discovered Keith was gay, he wanted to make a move. He wanted to try things out with him, but another side of him didn’t want to push it. Didn’t want to ruin the thing they already had together - a friendship that was being built on a thing they enjoyed together. If Lance were to suddenly pull a move while they were in the bath together? Well, it may turn out for the worse.

Pidge’s eyes softened, turning thoughtful as she eyed Lance, noticing his anxiety. “Hey, don’t worry so much. Where’s the confident Lance that we all know and love?”

Lance resisted the urge to roll his eyes, instead he gave Pidge a soft smile and told her he’d consider letting her in on the “bathing rituals”, but now? Now he had to consider what he was going to say to Keith. He was sure that Keith would say it would be fine for Pidge to join in, but did he want her to? More importantly, did he want Keith to say no - act possessive and say he didn’t want anyone else to join them.

Lance shuddered at the thought, swallowing a building desire as he made his way to the bath chamber. The smell of something akin to jasmine filtered through the air. Keith was already there, just finishing filling the bath and was moving to the shower stalls.

“Oh hey, you’re just in time.”

“You don’t mind me joining? I just kind of waltzed right in.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “As if I could keep you out of the water.”

Lance’s lips quirked. “True.”

Lance was already stripping, pausing only when he noticed Keith staring at him. He hadn’t done that since the first time they had bathed. It made Lance want to cover himself. He cleared his throat and Keith seemed to snap out of it.

“Hey, could…”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

Lance’s nose wrinkled. “Nuh-uh, don’t do that. What is it?”

Keith’s face was already red without even being in the bath, thick brows lowering as he scowled. “I was going to ask if you wanted to wash each other’s backs, but that would be weird, right?”

Lance blinked. It wasn’t really as it was… intimate. It made Lance’s stomach coil, he bit his lip before shrugging. “Sure, why not.”

Why not indeed. 

They got into a single shower stall together, it made Lance self conscious - his eyes on Keith, noticing how close they were. It made him shudder, but when Keith brought up the sponge, all worries melted away because, oh, it felt good to be washed by someone else, having them rub over your skin softly, rubbing down your back. Especially his back. He may as well have melted on the spot. Keith laughed before handing him the sponge, obviously saying ‘your turn’. Lance found himself doing it without shaking and without embarrassing himself. But it still had felt intimate, too intimate.

Once they were rinsed off and in the bath, Lance couldn’t help but notice how closer Keith was too him. Their legs kept brushing and no matter how much distance he tried to put between them, Keith waded closer. Lance was about to bolt when Keith let out an aggravated sound, suddenly pulling out of the water for a moment before he was straddling Lance.

Lance’s eyes widened and he glanced down at his lap. Keith’s hips were on his… their junk was touching… oh god.

Keith growled. “I can’t take it anymore. Why won’t you make a move?”

“Huh?”

Keith’s scowl looked cuter than it should. “We’ve been bathing together for awhile now and after you asking me if I was gay I thought…”

Lance swiftly reached down, fingers wrapping around Keith’s hips - not wanting him to bolt now. “You thought right, you thought right! Please, don’t get up.”

It was Keith’s turn to be surprised, eyes widening briefly before he relaxed. “Really?”

“Yeah… I didn’t make a move because I didn’t want to mess this up. I really enjoy this, I never thought I’d enjoy anything with you involved.”

Keith snorted. “Thanks.”

“I’m serious! Like, okay, I never really hated you, and I’ve always been… a bit jealous…”

“A bit?” teased Keith, flicking Lance on the nose, who whined and rubbed at it, glowering at Keith.

“Okay, I was really jealous - but, I never imagined you’d want to actually get to know me.”

Keith softened at that, eying him before he hugged Lance, their chests pressing together. Lance didn’t even get a moment to react when Keith leaned away and then socked him on the shoulder.

“Ow!”

“That’s for stringing me along.”

“I wasn’t stringing you alon-mm.”

Keith’s lips on his felt good. Too good. He slanted his lips more firmly against those seeking lips, caressing them, sending jolts down his and Keith’s spine. Keith broke the kiss with a soft exhale.

“That was for me.”

Lance snorted, raising a brow. “Then… this,” He tilted Keith’s chin and leaned in closer. “This is for me.”

The kisses started and they didn’t stop. Sweet, chaste kisses; slow and exploring ones. Sloppy ones. Laugh filled ones. Lance found he couldn’t get enough.

That was, until the heat got the better of them both.

They sat on a small bench away from the tub, their skin flushed red from the water - faces beet red from it as well. Lance panted.

“I can’t, believe… you’ve been wanting me, to jump you this entire. Time.”

“I didn’t want you to jump me!” Keith drew in a sharp breath, leaning back against the wall, his cheeks too red and his head too dizzy. “I just wanted us to move forward.”

“Well, now we have… and once I’m not seeing double of everything, I’m going to kiss you again.”

Keith’s lips quirked. “I'm counting on that. Just… no more kisses in the tub.”

“Agreed.”

Their bath was sacred, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> One thing I noticed when I googled 'bathhouses in the usa' etc, I found mostly information on gay bathhouses (spas exclusively for gay men), which I found fascinating. I had never heard of that and wondered to myself if there were any public bathhouses or if even those were like the bathhouses I'm thinking of ._. You know you watch too many animus when you wonder that, I suppose.
> 
> Anyways, I just wanted to put that out there in case anyone questions the moment when they talk about bathhouses in the states!
> 
> Thank you to anyone who took the time to read 5k of nonsense LOL


End file.
